1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to magnetotherapeutic devices, and more particularly to a mattress pad incorporating static magnetic field generators in the form of magnets to provide magnetotherapy to adjacent-tissues.
2. Description of the Related Art
Magnetotherapy uses magnetic fields to provide therapeutic and restorative treatment to limbs, organs, and other parts of the body. Generally, one means by which magnetotherapy may be achieved is by bringing a magnet or a series of magnets into close proximity with the affected body part or organ of interest. Although there are many theories on how these magnets work to provide magnetic therapy, all involve Faraday""s Law of Magnetic Induction. As is known according to Faraday""s Law of Magnetic Induction, as well as the Hall Effect, charged particles experience; a force acting on them when they move through a magnetic field in a perpendicular direction. Since human blood is replete with ions and electrolytes, it has many charged molecules, particles, and the like which experience a force, including an aligning force, when moving through a magnetic field. When exposed and caused to so travel through a magnetic field, such ions and electrolytes may generate heat, causing the associated blood vessel to widen. The widening of the blood vessel would then allow increased volumes of blood to flow through the blood vessel.
Polar molecules (such as water) also respond to magnetic fields in a manner similar to that for charged molecules. Additional therapeutic or restorative effects might arise through the alignment of polar molecules as they pass through the magnetic field. When subject to a magnetic field, polar molecules rotate to align themselves with the field. Such alignment would alternate with the magnetic polarity as the polar molecules traveled through different regions of such magnetic polarity. The mechanical motion of the rotation of such polar molecules might also cause heating and the like and would also stimulate, mix, or agitate the blood in a gentle manner, causing it to gently churn. Such mixing of the blood at the molecular level may cause it to more easily recognize foreign matter. By recognizing foreign matter, the blood and/or immune system may be able to more readily address such foreign matter. There are also other theories of operation as well still under investigation.
Several patents are known having various designs for the alternation of magnets of different polarity to provide spatially diverse magnetic fields. The patent to Latzke (U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,711 issued Dec. 25, 1984) and the patents to Ardizzone (U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,692 issued Jan. 11, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,072 issued May 7, 1996; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,495 issued Jul. 23, 1996) all disclose a variety of magnetic plaster and magnetic pads having certain magnetic geometries in order to achieve spatially varying magnetic fields through the use of magnets.
In the past, the only way to offer or provide both mechanical support and magnetic therapy was to insert magnets between a brace and the associated body joint. Recently, stronger static magnetic materials have become more readily available in the commercial market. Also, strong magnets were placed in mattresses or placed in bedding to provide a magnetic effect. Particularly, permanent magnets incorporating the element neodymium (atomic number 60) provide strong magnetic fields at common temperatures (below 120xc2x0 F./50xc2x0 C.). Such magnets can be incorporated into flexible fabrics or the like to provide a flexible material suitable for wrapping around joints. By using flexible and/or elastic materials such as NEOPRENE(copyright), a magnetotherapeutic joint wrap previously unseen in the art could be realized.
While certain portions of the human body have been emphasized as being subject to the use of magnetotherapeutic devices, it remains to be seen in the art to provide such magnetotherapy in the form of a mattress pad or the like for joints and/or blood flow in the upper and lower portions of the body with the varying degrees of magnetic polarity. Additionally, strong, magnetic material used in such joint wraps could be used in a mattress pad incorporating such magnetotherapeutic elements. It can be seen, therefore, that it would be of some advantage to provide magnetotherapeutic aid to a person""s joints and/or blood flow in the upper and lower portions of the body, particularly while the person rests or sleeps as such magnetotherapeutic treatment could then be effected for a period of several hours without interfering with a person""s daily and ongoing activities.
A magnetic mattress pad providing magnetotherapy while a person rests or sleeps is disclosed herein. The magnetic mattress pad comprises alternating magnetic means in the form of a plurality of uni-pole magnets and triangularboard button magnets. The term xe2x80x9cuni-pole magnetxe2x80x9d and equivalents used herein are used to indicate a magnet having only one pole (of two) facing the user. As is well known, all magnets have two poles. Magnetic monopoles contradict the currently-known laws of physics (Maxwell""s famous equations) and the term xe2x80x9cuni-polexe2x80x9d is one of convenience for surface description.
The uni-pole magnets are arranged asymmetrically through the mattress pad while the triangularboard button magnets are located only in the upper portion of the mattress pad. In the upper portion of the mattress pad there are approximately twice as many triangularboard button magnets as there are uni-pole magnets. There are generally more than twice as many uni-pole magnets in the upper portion than in the lower portion of the mattress pad and generally no magnetic means are located in the uppermost portion of the magnetic mattress pad.
Combining the triangularboard button magnets with the uni-pole magnets allow for a stronger magnetic field than using the uni-pole magnets alone. These triangularboard button magnets comprise entire or diagonally-bisected equilateral triangles having opposing north and opposing south poles with Leach of the north poles bounded by a south pole. Each of the triangularboard button magnets may generate approximately 900 Gauss on the surface and 1.5 Gauss at a distance 0.75 inches from the surface. In the preferred embodiment, 200 uni-pole magnets and 234 triangularboard button magnets are present.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetotherapeutic mattress pad.
It is another object of the present invention to provide magnetotherapy while one rests or sleeps.
It is another object of the present invention to provide highly magnetic magnetotherapy while one rests or sleeps.